Review: Paramore - Brand New Eyes

Tennessee titans mix adolescent anger with grown-up candor.

“The next time you point a finger / I’ll point you to the mirror,” sings Hayley Williams in “Playing God”, an indignant attack on posers juxtaposed with painfully pretty guitar ripples. The pint-size, iron-lunged frontwoman is all about honesty. Cathartic single “Ignorance” addresses how distrust and tension, results of newfound fame, have negatively affected the band members’ age-old friendship. While the group is barely out of their teens, their third album swaps earnest admissions of love and overall naiveté for a sound that’s more abrasive and fervent—yet also more pensive and nuanced. Make no mistake, Paramore is still pop. But then again, whoever said that raw, truthful music couldn’t be super-catchy at the same time?

Grade: B+

Key Tracks: Playing God, Turn It Off, The Only Exception

New Weezer Single!

It's explosive! It's pop! It's Weezer! It rocks! "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" is about a doomed summer romance. But the song doesn't boast any undertones of grief or loss. The whole thing is pretty much in the key of "Whew! That was fun." An awkward first kiss with a cute goth chick at summer camp set to a bouncy, guitar-driven melody. And what's more, it takes place in July! The happiest month in the world! Summer lovin' is so gad dang great. And so is this song. Soak it up.

Grade: A-

Psssssst... Weezer's seventh disc, Raditude, drops November 3rd. Here's a-hoping it'll be better than last year's subpar Red Album.

My Life Aspiration: To Be This Guy

Who is this bespectacled, inoffensive-looking bumpkin? Why no other than Craig Finn, arguably current rock music's most prolific songwriter! In addition to fronting New York's favorite bar band, The Hold Steady, Finn is one of the most dynamic characters in the biz. A lovable misogynist whose honesty rings in the gruff, frenzied manner in which he speak-sings. Spending a long bus ride listening to The Hold Steady's Separation Sunday from start to finish is the sonic equivalent of reading a page-turning novel. But unlike the majority of page-turning novels, Sunday is an effing masterpiece. It could be called a concept album, but that would oversimplify its genius. The album revolves around Hallelujah ("but they kids, they call her Holly") a strung-out ex-Catholic School girl. Hallelujah is not merely one misled young woman, but a vehicle for Finn's brillliant, hilarious commentary on human nature. Betrayal. Disillusionment. The ins and outs of love and lust. She also provides him with a whole lot of context for his twistedly thought-provoking religious analogies. The Who sang "It's only teenage wasteland" but Finn takes the notion of wasted youth a step farther. Hallelujah begins her descent into drunkenness and physical dissipation on The Hold Steady's equally awesome debut Almost Killed Me. But Sunday offers a deeper look into her chaotic life.  She "slept with too many skaters" ("Hornets! Hornets!") and likes the way her crucifix necklace looks "on her chest with three open buttons" ("Multitude Of Casualties"). But by the album's end she's reached a turning point, for better or for worse. "Youth services always find a way to get their bloody cross into your druggy little messed-up teenage life," sings Finn on "Multitude of Casualities". Hallelujah's journey, chronicled over the course of three albums, is intense, engaging and oh-so human. And not one second of the trip sounds forced or false. Gotta hand it to Craig Finn: dude calls it like he sees it, and damn, he calls it good.

Coolest Band You've Never Heard Of: Noisettes

Who are the Noisettes? The coolest band you've never heard of, that's who! The British power-trio are fronted by immensely talented bassist/vocalist Shingai Shoniwa. Her smoky vocals are a retro soul throwback, but the group has created a sound all their own. 2007's What Time Is It Mr. Wolf? showcases the group's sui generis mixture of raw punk and intricate indie-rock. Shoniwa's tuneful shrieks pack enough vicious attitude to send Karen O running for shelter (check out "Scratch Your Name"), yet their drum-bass-guitar arrangements are sparse in an awesome bluesy way, reminiscent of the early Stones. New album Wild Young Hearts finds the band expanding their musical influences yet maintaining their wicked original vibe. The rhythm guitar and unmistakeable groove on "Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go)" presents a funk-rock edge, while the crazy-catchy "Never Forget You" sounds like it could have been recorded by a sixties girl-group. Brilliant, passionate and loads of fun: if you love music, you'll adore the Noisettes.